Tiberium Gate (Hiatus)
by Tehpootisman
Summary: Falmar, a world stricken by a mysterious green crystal we know as "Tiberium". Magecraft is at an all-time low, and abominations run rampant. The Gods and Goddesses of Falmar, after some convincing by one of their higher-ups, finally open the Gate and hope for the best. And the best is what they'll get. Who is it? Why, none other than the GDI. Post C&C4, mainly contains C&C3 KW.
1. Chapter 1

Falmar.

A world of magic, fantasy, and any monster girl you could imagine.

Well, now it's the equivalent to Hell on Earth. A green hell to be exact.

About a few months ago, a meteor struck Falmar. And with it came chaos, as the green crystal it brought quickly began to overrun their world.

People, dragons, just about everything. Nothing could stop it, if they touched the crystal, they either became more of the crystal, or became horrifying half-crystal abominations.

They didn't even have to physically touch the crystal, for the air around them seemed toxic. There was no solace in the sky, for great storms would vaporize those who dared to fly in the clouds.

Magecraft and other arts of magic are increasingly rare, for the toxic air seems to eliminate one's ability to use any form of magic, leaving mages on the run from both slavers and the strange green crystal, for if the latter caught them, they had a chance for a fate worse than death, for they would become a Crystal Menace, an extremely powerful mage whose magic was actually mysteriously reinforced by the green crystals, to the point where an already powerful normal spell could be supercharged to the point of mass destruction, at the cost of their sanity and moral compass.

Many think that their gods have abandoned them.

Quite the opposite, actually. They tried to fix it.

Keyword being _tried._

No matter how many earthquakes or other divine interventions they used, the crystal only came back even more plentiful.

So now, they sat around arguing, until finally, one of the higher ups, Darkshinia, Embodiment of Order, came into their realm, two of her great war machines, these known as an Assimilator and a Bulwark, carrying the dead body of an Apostle, and the half conscious body of an alternate Embodiment, whose head had been completely turned into the green crystal, rendering it unable to heal in any way.

This was all the convincing they needed, for they would have to send one of their own remaining Apostles through a structure simply known as the Gate.

Hardy, Goddess of the Underworld, opened the Gate, and they all hoped for the best.

And the best is exactly what they'll get

* * *

 **[Falmar's realm of the gods]**

"Oh, quit your whining, Duncan."

"Excuse me!? I have tried combining my forge powers with those of Hardy's ability to split the earth apart and _it_ still came back! I have every right to complain, goddamnit!"

As the Gods and Goddesses bickered like children, one of them stayed quiet. God of Death, Emroy.

Finally, he had enough of this nonsense, even though _he_ notorious for his skewered sanity, as he threw a few magical skulls, which knocked just about everyone out.

"Quiet, all of ye! Are ya bleedin' idiots? You punks are makin' my head spin!" He exclaimed, changing from a Scottish accent to a mafia gangster in a single sentence

"Oh god, he's mixing accents again."

"Did the God of Insanity/Death/Whatever just tell us to shut up?"

"You just have to open the Gate and get some help." He said in a more serious tone of voice.

"Are you an idiot, Emroy?"

"No, he has a good idea for once." Everyone turned to see a tall woman with cyan colored hair. She wore a gray uniform decorated with several war medals. On her back is two pairs of bright translucent yellow wings, signifying her as a Greater Fae, which are basically four-winged human-sized fairies. She had a large sword at her side, which glowed a bight cyan color.

This was Darkshinia, Embodiment of Order. As an Embodiment, she had higher authority in the hierarchy of the Celestials, a few levels above an Archgoddess. Together, they control many of the forces within the confines of their timeline, wether it be Chaos or Order, or keeping balance between the previously mentioned. She herself used to be a General, until she gave it up, giving the title of Admiral (because it sounded cooler) to the Embodiment of Balance, Legia Lestarie.

Behind her was a pair of her great war machines. To her left was a large bi-pedal mech with long arms and rather bare-bones body, with a single massive triangular eye with a green iris, known as an Assimilator.

To her right was a similarly built mech, this one loaded with weaponry ranging from hands that could transform into four gatling guns each to two rows of _at least a dozen_ tank barrels place just above it's head, which was also triangle, except that it's iris was a deep blue. This was a Bulwark.

In the former's hands lay the body of what used to be the Apostle of one of the gods in the room, now unrecognizable due to the massive crystal growths.

You see, the Apostles of Falmar's gods were nigh invincible. Sure, they weren't _actually_ invincible, for you could separate their body parts a great distance and they'd never be able to get it back unless you returned it or unless they ascended, but you can't regenerate your flesh if it's not there to begin with, as with what happened to this poor fellow.

The Bulwark held another body in its hands. It appeared to be a woman whose left side was turned completely into metal, which was one of the few options left for even a Chaos being like herself. However, she only had half of a brain, and thus was rendered brain-dead, only barely conscious through her own sheer power. And even then, all she did was stare at her hands.

"Do you see the pain and death that this green crystal has caused? This may not be my actual sister, but that doesn't matter! My forces are current fighting the source as we speak! However, they have yet to reach your world! So what are you gonna do, sit around and bicker?!"

Silence fell over them, not wanting to refute her claims, since most Embodiments were often known for their questionable state of minds.

"...They're right. We have to open the Gate."

"We'll send Rory Mercury through the Gate, and we'll see if we can get the Princess as well. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy, walked through the streets of Italica, one of the last major settlements that have remained untouched to the tidal waves of the green crystals.

Civilians watched in fear and respect. Despite the hatred many held for the gods and goddesses for apparently doing anything to resolve the crisis, they were still wise enough not to piss off an Apostle of _any_ god or goddess, let alone the Apostle of the death god.

In the center of Italica was a large towering castle, where the Princess of the Empire, Pinã Co Lada, who had been able to create a massive "safehouse" consisting of the entire city, where mages and humanoids could live in peace within the city walls. So far, it was through pure luck that the toxic crystal had yet to strike like a plague. (Or maybe it was plot armor.)

Earlier that day, Rory had a vision, in which Emroy told her that the Gate would open, and that she and the princess would have to enter it to seek the aid of those on the other side.

Unfortunately, they had little to no control over where the Gate would open on the other side, so it would be quite a shot in the dark.

* * *

Princess Pinã watched intently as the Gate materialized on Alnus Hill in front of her.

As she sat upon her horse, she glanced at a field of the cursed green crystals, some of which were blue, that surrounded the hill. Behind her was her Rose Order of Knights, an small group of elite knights that consisted entirely of females, save for their mentor, an man named Gray, who taught them how to fight at a young age, when everyone else saw them as a bunch of children acting out their fantasies.

Behind her stood Rory, carrying her trademark halberd.

"So...are we ready?" The Apostle asked, growing impatient.

A loud screech behind them provided plenty of motivation, as a humanoid Crystal Menace, its body deformed and covered in patches of the green crystal, leapt out of the crystal fields, wielding a large crystal staff.

"Go, go, go!"

 _Thus, they fled through the Gate, and hoped for the best._

 _The best is what they'll get._


	2. Chapter 2

**Edit notes: Fixed the MARV vs Crystal Menace scene after getting at least two reviews about a critical error I made. Also added more backstory.**

* * *

 **[Location: New California, United States, Earth]**

 **[Year: 2082]**

 **[Five years after Kane's Ascension and nine years after the end of the Incursion War]**

* * *

Following the disappearance of Kane and the majority of the Brotherhood of Nod, Earth has entered a state of peace. Infrastructure, once torn down by the scourge once called "Tiberium", has been rebuilt at an surprisingly fast pace, as humanity once again repopulates the planet. Nod's research in biological modification has lead to the recreation of several pre-tiberium animal species, allowing them to fix the eco-systems of Earth. Mutants, people who were turned into ghoulish creatures by the Tiberium, now live peacefully alongside their fellow man, thanks to technology enabling them to live without the radioactive crystal.

The Tiberium Control Network, or TCN, contains the last existing pockets of Tiberium, being used as a cheap power source for the world, putting mankind miles away from the metaphorical edge of extinction.

Much of this is thanks to the GDI, or Global Defense Intiative, formed sometime after World War II, which serves as both a global government and a peacekeeping/military force, a somewhat oppressive one, considering that they preferred armored superiority tactics. They saw Tiberium as a catalyst for both extinction of the human race _and_ as a source of great economic strength, a strength that has been slowly waning for the past few years.

Tiberium, while dangerous, could be used to harvest raw minerals by grinding it up and then extracting these resources, which they made heavy use of until the Incursion War, in which Kane and the GDI allied to create the TCN, only to be immediately attacked by anti-Kane Nod Separatist factions. The Incursion War lasted 11 years, starting in 2062, and ending in 2073. What happened next was the Ascension Conflict, which lasted a total of 10 days, starting on May 1st, 2077. It was quite a mess, with the alliance between GDI and Nod causing major controversy, obviously due to the fact that they fought in three wars against each other.

A pair of GDI commanders, one of which was the five people given special optical implants, lead an attempted coup dè'tat, one of which believed that Kane had played their higher-ups for fools, only for it to be revealed that the optical implant was the key for Kane and his Brotherhood's ascension in the Scrin Threshold, a massive indestructible tower located near Italy. The former shot the other commander, only to be killed by Kane. Using the optical implant, the latter opens the portal for Kane, before presumably dying to his wounds.

Anyways, today, the GDI had decided to host a military march down one of the main streets of Neo Sans Fransisco, consisting of tech from the recent aforementioned Ascension Conflict, and also from the previous war, the Third Tiberium War, the war in which the Scrin, mysterious aliens who feed off of Tiberium the same way a druggie thrives off of cocaine, invaded Earth in order to harvest Tiberium after Kane tricked the GDI into using an Ion Cannon on a massive Tiberium bomb, creating a massive explosion several times more powerful than any nuclear bomb, prematurely attracting the aliens to their planet.

The beginning consisted of a single house-sized tank, one that took up the width of the entire street, called a MARV, or Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle. Part Tiberium refinery, part super tank. Its body consisted of two separate parts, the front being the refinery that pulls the tank part behind it, which houses three massive 120mm Sonic Cannons in the form of a rotary gun barrel. It has four hardpoints above its oversized treads, allowing for additional gun emplacements.

Behind it was of a pair of Mammoth Tanks, flanked by heavily armored Zone Troopers. Being massive dual-barreled tanks, which could easily be replaced with massive railguns, which is what these two had, they were a major threat on the battlefield. Following them were several of ZOCOM's Zone Shatterers, large hovercraft equipped with a single massive cannon, which fired special Harmonic Resonance waves, or simply, sonic waves. While Earth's Tiberium became immune to Harmonic Resonance some time after the Third Tiberium War, the sonic waves still proved their worth as an anti-structure weapon.

Titans and Juggernauts, bipedal mechs built for frontal assault and long ranger artillery respectively, walked through, their polished guns glistening in the sunlight. During the Third Tiberium War, the GDI nearly threw away the mech technology due a somewhat obvious weakness, their leg systems, until the Steel Talons, another branch of GDI, kept the Titans in service. The Juggernaut saw use during the said war, due to their long range artillery support countering this said structural weakness. Due to improvements in mech technology, Titans, as well as other mechs, were reintroduced during the Ascension Conflict.

Several other of GDI's heavy armor strolled through, as a crowd watched with a mix of fear and respect, because for one, you don't piss off the people who saved the world. Although they could be a tad bit less oppressive. The whole martial law business was still a problem, a problem which became less and less common as the world grew back into a potential new golden age of prosperity.

This parade was unique, for today marked the 5th anniversary of the disappearance of Tiberium, and so festivities were to be provided in an attempt to appeal to the people to show that they weren't the heartless, oppressive kind that many saw them as.

However, this military parade came to a halt when a mysterious structure appeared quite a distance away, in the path of the parade. Since they obviously didn't expect a giant arch to appear, there's now a MARV in the way, meaning that the Zone Troopers had to use their jetpacks to jump over the oversized tank, aiming their railguns at the Gate, which looked like it could the aforementioned super-tank with a few inches to spare.

It was then when several horses with female knights riding on it, plus a girl in gothic lolita clothing, dashed out, a large two-toed beast wearing torn crystalline robes, and holding a wooden staff covered in patches of Tiberium. Behind it, several forms of wildlife, all of which had been mutated by Tiberium. From the looks of it, they were hungry for human flesh, as they chased after civilians, spitting/vomiting/shooting Tiberium, which many fell victim to.

Immediately, the Zone Troopers went into action, firing their railguns into the crowds of Tiberium fiends, mowing them down while being careful not to shoot the lolita, the knights, or any civilians. The Zone Shatterers managed to find a way around, joining the Zone Troopers, launching large blue-colored shockwaves that tore through the beasts like a knife through butter, shattering their Tiberium growth into harmless pieces.

Soon, though, their numbers became too great, forcing the Zone Troopers to fall back to the flanks of MARV, which now drove forward, full speed ahead.

"Sir, the knights and the gothic have been successfully designated as friendlies!"

"Alright, fire! We're gonna plug that Gate thing!"

"Alright! Wait what?"

The Crystal Menace, floating in the air right in front of the Gate, saw the massive machine coming towards the Gate, where a field of Tiberium, spread by it and the fiends pouring through, stood between them. Using its nuclear-powered magic, it picked up a large portion of the field, and launched them at the MARV, only for it to bounce off harmlessly. The MARV responded, firing a single 120mm shell at the Crystal Menace.

* * *

Princess Pinã watched in horror as a massive blue wave of magic approached their position. Time seemed to slow down as they steered their horses out of the way, the sonic waves only feet away from her.

The same couldn't be said, however, for the Crystal Menace and her Tiberium field were rendered null and void from this plane of existance as the sonic waves tore her body to shreds, molecule by molecule. Without a powerful being to guide them, the remaining fiends immediately stopped what they were doing immediately headed back to the Gate, fleeing for the safety of the Tiberium fields that were apparently on the other side.

Getting out of the way of the impending house-carriage, the princess and her knights manage to guide their horses to the sidewalk.

The MARV came to a stop, filling the Gate's entrance," essentially sealing it off.

The Zone Troopers approached the group of knights, guns in their hands.

One of them pulled off their helmet, revealing the "it" to be a female with blonde hair.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young ladies."


	3. Chapter 3

**In case you're wondering why Rory didn't help out in the previous chapter, well, what if that Tiberium got on your weapon? You're not gonna have one for too long, aren't ya?**

* * *

 _With the issue of global repopulation on the rise, GDI decided that they would make their way back to the way things were before the Tiberium meteor struck Earth; minus the Allies fighting the Soviets. Each government would have jurisdiction over their respective countries, while remaining as one single military superpower, in the event that the Scrin came back._

* * *

 **[Location: GDI US Headquarters, Washington DC]**

Princess Pinã stared outside the window of her hotel suite room, at the city of "Washing-ton-Dee-Cee", which was apparently the capital of the "kingdom" she and her knights had been taken to.

The media, after it was confirmed that it was NOT another Scrin invasion, but an actual world infested with "Ty-beer-ri-um" was currently split over them, sympathy because they had almost died for their cause, or anger because the whole issue with the green crystal was back.

She also found it surprising, that they had a _name_ for the green crystal, and that they had actually dealt with it before. Down below in the parking lot, she could see plenty of "Riflemen" out on patrol. By her door and window were a pair of Zone Troopers.

Behind Pinã, her Page (A/N: whatever that means), Hamilton Uno Rō, and another one of her knights, Bozes Co Palesti, was turning a bed-side lamp on and off, mesmerized in the same fashion as cavemen discovering fire.

Rory Mercury may have been a fearsome being back in Falmar, but here, even she couldn't resist the comfort of hotel beds as she slept peacefully, albeit snoring loudly, in strange dull-colored outfits provided for them, which were surprisingly comfortable and quite flexible. Their old clothes had been "contaminated", meaning that they had to wear these for the time being.

A scream suddenly caught everyone's attention (save for Rory's).

"AAAH! So c-cold..!" Apparently, one of them had discovered the hard way what that one knob in the shower does. One of the two zone troopers, having heard the scream, looking in through the window, but then decided that whatever it was, it wasn't major.

The Falmarian princess sighed, sitting down on one of the beds, allowing gravity to pull her down as she lay there, staring at the ceiling.

* * *

 **[The next day...]**

 **[Location: The White House]**

Since they were still rebuilding, many places have clearly seen better days.

Fortunately, the White House was relatively intact, albeit a few stray bullet holes that still needed filling, from when they cleared the historic building out from Nod's grasp.

They walked down one of many hallways, GDI riflemen giving them friendly waves as they passed by. Initially, her knights seemed a little annoyed by how casually they treated the princess and an Apostle of the death god, but a brief glare from Pinã told them that now wasn't the time.

Eventually, they finally entered a room with a long table, with many empty chairs. The Rose knights stand nearby as Pinã and Rory each took a seat.

After a short period of silence, a man, wearing a black tuxedo and carrying a briefcase, walks in, and takes a seat across from the two Falmarians. He opens the briefcase, revealing a strange machine with a touch screen on it.

"Hello there, my name is Jon Ramirez, and I am the Director of GDI. And you are...?"

"Princess Pinã co Lada."

"Rory Mercury, Apostle of the Death God, Emroy."

 _To start off, the Falmarians needed to know what exactly they were dealing with._

* * *

 ** _[Warning: The following probably won't make sense unless you're some college graduate who got straight A's in your chemistry classes. As such, feel free to jump down to the TL;DR section.]_**

* * *

 _Tiberium is a dense "dynamic proton lattice" held together by exotic heavy particles. When Tiberium comes into contact with other matter, the heavy particles randomly collide with the nuclei of the target matter, smashing it to pieces (in the case of smaller nuclei) or incrementally knocking off protons or neutrons (in the case of heavier nuclei). Tiberium captures a fraction of the protons that are ejected during this collision process and incorporates them into its own structure, thus transmuting matter into more Tiberium. Whenever one of the heavy particles—a muon or tauon—collides with an atomic nucleus, fission occurs, which results in the production of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation as well as other forms of electromagnetic radiation (like infra-red). During the transmutation process, nuclei that Tiberium has come into contact with may be changed into nuclei with different (usually fewer) numbers of protons or neutrons._

 ** _TL:DR_** _, Tiberium is a self-replicating crystal that converts other material into more of itself. Including flesh. (As if you, the reader, didn't already know.)_

 _However, it also sucked vital minerals out of the ground, which, while it turned the world around it into a wasteland, allowed for the easy collection of resources, by grinding them up and then refining them to extract these minerals._

 _And over the years, GDI has perfected their mining techniques, as well as Tiberium growth denial, with their Harmonic Resonance technology._

 _Eventually, they came to an agreement:_

 _GDI, in exchange for the resources in the Tiberium fields, would provide aid to the people of Falmar, including military and medical support, and albeit a bit reluctant to do so, provide a home on Earth for the refugees._

 _The Princess was not afraid to express her desire to help her people, and they came up with a solution; ZOCOM would design some Zone Raider suits just for her, the knights, and Rory. However, they would have to stay behind, here on Earth, in order to learn how to use these weapons._

* * *

 _A few days later, many of GDI's forces filled the main street of Neo San Fransisco, in front of the Gate. The MARV that rested in the opening had been moved, replaced by specially built Sonic repulsor fields, which filtered the Tiberium out of the air flowing in through the Gate._

 _The Crawlers were simply too big to fit through the Gate, and unless they managed to find a way to teleport satellites to another world, there wouldn't be much use for them considering that they're usually dropped from orbit, which is why they were using a somewhat more classic approach._

 _The MCV, or Mobile Construction Vehicle. With this, they could easily construct a base within a few hours._

 _Three MARVs stood in a single-file line in front of the Gate, ready to go through, in front of the main force, in order to start clearing out the large Tiberium fields that the scouts had mentioned in their report._

 _The order was given, as the super-tanks lumbered through the Gate, followed by GDI's forces._

 _Thus, they hoped for the best._

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Hey, it's not overkill if it's for utility purposes!**

 **And while I don't intend for this to completely follow the plot of Gate, there will mostly likely be some parallels or similarities or whatever the kids these days call them. Which, yes, includes the part where they encounter the Flame Dragon. Of course, knowing the effects of Tiberium...Oh boy.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I went back and fixed a critical error in the previous chapter concerning the effects of Sonic weapons against those without special anti-friendly-fire equipment. I apologize for that, by the way.**

 **Also, this story will mostly feature C &C3 plus Kane's Wrath units, since they don't really have a way to get Crawlers into the Special Region.**

* * *

 **[Location: Alnus Hill, Falmar. Planet name unknown]**

A large, tank-sized praying mantis made purely out of a strange blue crystal stood guard as several crystal ants, which were the size of german shepards, as they dragged several large Tiberium Crystals through the green glowing fields. Strangely, they seemed to be unaffected by it's normal properties, seeing they were _harvesting_ it.

The Crystallite Mantis suddenly looked up at the Gate, feeling a low rumbling in the ground. It then saw the first of the three MARVs, and of course, seeing something that could easily crush it like an insect (literally), it decided it would take no chances, letting out a short screech, causing the Ants to drop their cargo and scatter out deep into the Tiberium fields, where they went, only Falmar's gods know.

The Mantis itself took flight, landing on top of the Gate, where it assumed that it wouldn't be able to see it there, and watched as three massive tanks came out of the structure, lumbering through the Tiberium fields, the built-in refineries picking up the green crystal, leaving behind large trails of empty ground, as more of GDI's forces, plus an MCV, poured out slowly, as the MARVs cleared away more and more Tiberium, until the MCV was given ample space to unpack.

The MCV began to deploy its building modules, as Barracks and a pair of War Factories were eventually established within a short period of time, and after a Crane was built, the production of structures were doubled as several Tiberium Silos appeared.

Some Zone Troopers from the GDI's main branch (They had sent mainly ZOCOM forces in first, since they were equipped for aggressive reclamation from Tiberium.) noticed the giant blue Mantis standing on the Gate, and it noticed them. As much as it needed to flee, its curiosity took over, watching them back. Never before had humans actually stopped to observe their kind, as they usually ran in fear due to their size, or were in large groups attempting to harvest their body parts for jewelry or magic catalysts.

Several more structures appeared, including a large octagonal platform with a peculiar looking truss tower. On the base of the platform read "WARNING: LAUNCH ZONE." Based off of old blueprints of a rocket launch pad someone found in the database, they would be able to set up Zone Trooper drops as well as their beloved Ion Cannons. However, as Ion Storms rage in the cloudy skies above, sending stuff into space would be next to impossible if they wanted their satellites to be in the best condition possible.

As the MARVs continued to clear out Tiberium, several more facilities appeared. In anticipation of the countless refugees, several medical facilities had been built. Every inch of them were cover with at least one form of anti-Tiberium technology.

Somewhere, from a hilltop a large distance away from the base in construction, named Aurora Base, another Crystal Menace watches. With the help of the voices inside her head, she rallied a small army of Tiberium fiends, including Tiberium Wyverns and even several mutated humans. She pointed at the base, signaling the charge.

* * *

"Contacts sighted! Tiberium Fiends, dead ahead!"

The MARVs turned their turrets, firing their Sonic Cannons. The sonic waves tore through the army of mutants, either vaporizing or burning them to death. Still, the fiends continued onwards, using what's left of the large Tiberium field to blend in, as the Ion Storm's intensity plus the lack of satellites was causing issues with multiple radar systems, rendering them half blind, forcing them to rely on visuals and a short range radar. Luckily, the turrets that they had built were equipped for detecting stealth units, and thermal imaging allows them to detect those hiding in the Tiberium.

"Contacts, in the sky! All Mammoth and Predator Tanks, form a defensive line! I need two Rigs to deploy by that line in a place where they can get a clear shot! I want five Slingshots and three Pitbulls armed with Mortar attachments!" The Commander ordered, as the GDI/ZOCOM forces mobilized to defend their base. Anti-Air Batteries filled the air with 30mm rounds, as several Wyverns fell to the ground.

The Crystal Menace ran through the field, nimbly dodging sonic waves, explosions, and bullets, launching Tiberium shards at the wall of tanks, doing minimal impact damage, although they did get lodged in the armor. The shards suddenly glow and explode, piercing the armor, disabling many Predators, as the drones of the Rigs, now deployed as Battle Stations, scramble to repair them, as fiends take advantage to zerg-rush the position, slipping through the spaces between the tanks, only to meet a second line of defense; several foxholes, dug out by Riflemen, whom wore ZOCOM's Tiberium field suits, opened fire with their GD2 assault rifles, as waves of bullets mowed down what the tanks couldn't get.

Using her powerful legs, augmented by Tiberium mutations, she jumps over the tanks. Or, at least, she tries to, for a Pitbull's rockets hit her mid-air from below, sending her flying, where she lands unceremoniously in front of the Gate. Her left arm has been blown off, and the blast has rendered her unconscious. Several Zone Troopers pick her up as the Mantis looks over the edge to watch.

Their connection to their leader cut off, the fiends here, like the ones who came through the Gate, retreated, or in the case of the mutated humans, surrendered.

The ZOCOM/GDI forces had sustained several casualties, and some had to be hospitalized for low to moderate-low levels of Tiberium exposure, but no fatalities.

Several Zone Raiders dragged the Crystal Menace expecting her to be dead. However, it suddenly wakes up, lashing out at them. She struggled, trying to escape, but due to the blood loss that results from losing a limb, she eventually tires out, going limp from exhaustion.

Seeing as how they managed slip past the first line of defense, they would definitely have to be on their guard.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Jesus.**

 **I never intended for them to get attacked so soon, but unfortunately, I guess there are parts of the mold you can't break.**

 **Well, at least it's not the Empire getting curb-stomped this time.**

 **Chapter's still a shitstorm.**


	5. Chapter 5

**[Earth]**

Nothing, not even months of Grey Co Aldo's vigorous training, could compare to what she and her knights had been through in the past few _days._

They had to run laps, then run laps while carrying "supplies", run laps in muddy terrain, run laps in muddy terrain with "supplies", then run laps in highly uneven terrain...You get the idea.

They also had to do one-handed push-ups, too.

Of course, for Rory, being a demigoddess, this was mere child's play. Which is why they did a new strategy; Instead of simply running laps, she had to do laps whilst towing a vintage WWII Humvee*. So it was much less of running and more of struggling with the whole uneven terrain aspect.

When asked, the instructor said "She was cheating with that super-human strength of hers, so I fixed it."

They also had to do a lot of close quarter combat training (this time they just left Rory out of it for obvious reasons.) as well as other things.

However, they were gonna get into the good stuff, aka, the Zone Raider suits.

Yesterday, they had finally gotten their Raider suits, which wasn't all that different from their old suits of armor, albeit more form-hugging.

These were training suits, so they weren't exactly all that special.

And almost immediately, they had to run laps again. Except this time, wearing power armor. Well, except for Rory, they had other plans for her.

Yay.

* * *

 **[Alnus Reigon, Falmar]**

 **[Current status: Yellow Zone]**

 **[One week after the attack on Aurora Base]**

 _GDI and ZOCOM have finally removed enough Tiberium from a large area around Alnus Hill to allow the Ion storms to weaken to the point that aircraft and spacecraft can safely be launched._

 _When they finally got a satellite to get a view of the region, they were pleasantly surprised to see that the Tiberium seemed to stop at what appears to be a massive snowy mountain range, which means that the extremely cold environment was slowing it's spread to a near halt._

 _They were also able to send some 3rd Generation Ion Cannon satellites, although it would take some time for them to set up an Ion Cannon control network specifically for Falmar._

 _Right now, however, they had to find those refugees, as well as clear out other regions. Not only that, but they would also have to locate Ground Zero, where the original meteorite fell, for one of the Engineers came up with the idea that if the Tiberium Meteorite on Earth had brought the Tacitus, then surely there would be one here._

 _As for the refugees, well, several ion storms had rendered much of the map blurry, meaning that they would have to once again rely on short-term radar scans and visuals._

 _This time, they would send out a Steel Talons commander to establish a forward base, with the help of one of the human mutants, named Duran._

 _Steel Talons was another branch of GDI's military force, one that consisted of an "Experimental weapons division with a strong focus on firepower", using oldies such as Titans, large bipedal walker mechs, or their Wolverines, mini-mechs that were essentially ancestors of the Zone Trooper suits used mostly today. While they're lacking in Sonic weaponry and infantry forces, they make up for it with heavy armor forces._

* * *

Mike was your average Commando, GDI's cream of their Infantry crops.

Went through intense training, the kind with a 22% fatality rate and a 97% survivor dropout rates.

Master of the legendary one-handed push-ups.

Armed with a full suit of heavy body armour made of Kevlar5 over a Mitsubishi elasticized polymer ceramic core, a Data General Rugged System (DGRS) Sensor fusion helmet system , a hard point mounting system with an integrated Dai Nippon Skunk Works PCS/Jenner jump jet unit, plenty of explosive det packs, and last but not least, an experimental railgun assault carbine, the Commandos of GDI are a force to be reckoned with.

And right now, he sat in an infantry pod of a Juggernaut Mk. II Behemoth, an "experimental precursor to the Juggernaut". While lacking the range of a the aforementioned Mk. III, it has the advantage of being garrisoned by infantry, giving it better protection in the event of close range encounters.

And beside him sat another Commando, a female named Rylie. She wore a specialized suit of Commando armor, mainly because of her somewhat noticeable bust size, plus her short heighf. During training, many of her peers made fun of her because one, she dyed her hair blue, two, the aforementioned shortness, and three, women rarely entered the Commando program. However, she had the last laugh when she outclassed them in almost every aspect, becoming one of the 3% of those who graduated.

The two never talked to each other much, but they still got along fairly well. And by fairly, we mean that they tolerated the presence of the other person.

They sat there in silence, holding their assault carbines in their laps. Mike, starting to feel bored, decided to pass the time, pulling out a book labeled "On the Front Lines", a book about an alternate timeline where the Allies and Soviets never went to war with _each other_ , where WWII started several years earlier, starting when a German man named Hitler invaded Poland...

* * *

 _It searched without end, looking for a new host. Even in this form, it still held great power. But without a host, this power was useless._

 _But then it found it._

 _The Heart of Nilokil, a benevolent deity whose kindness combined with the ability to create anything lead to ignorance and irresponsibility, which lead to his supposed "companions" turn on him, drowning him in a swath of nuclear fire using the tools of war that he unwittingly created. The blasts scattered many of his creations across reality._

 _His heart, made of gold, was all that remained of him. It was a perfect host. Now, all it needed was an energy source so that it could use the Heart to construct a new body. So, it began to eat Tiberium and absorb its energy._

 _CABAL would reawaken, and no amount of GDI, Nod, or Scrin could ever hope to take it down._

 _It would rise as an Iron Angel of destruction._

 _But first, it had to get out of the body of the Iron Angel parasite._

* * *

The young Crystal Menace tossed and turned on the metal bed she rested on, trying to-

Wait.

She was...alive?

The Tiberium mage opened her eyes and sat up, noticing that she was in a rather brightly lit room. It was rather quiet, save for the gentle hum of the air conditioning.

Without the voices in her head, it was quite eerie. Her body was covered in strange fabrics that seemed to actively resist the Tiberium's attempt to make more of itself.

Her skin retained its pale-green tone, with dark green blood vessels visible beneath it, her blood having turned somewhat green thanks to the green death crystal.

Looking around, she saw that the room she was in had generic white flooring, with gray walls. One wall had a what at first glance appeared to be a large mirror, however, her senses could detect that there was some people behind it.

It suddenly occurred to her that she couldn't feel her left arm. Reaching over, she could feel a fleshy nub where it used to be.

They...had not only spared her...but...

...Why though?

* * *

 **Author's note**

 **Who's the guy who deleted half of this chapter because of how shit it was?**

 **Me!**

 **Well, guess who got distracted by Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain?**

 **Yep, that's right! Me!**

 **You know who's gonna throw in obvious Metal Gear references?**

 **Yep! Me!**

 **You know who will be forever haunted by the "Devil House" scenes?**

 **Unfortunately, me.**

 **Also, I might introduce Nod at some point. Sorry, but no Kane though.**

 **Mike and Rylie will serve as some of the "main characters", although I may have a few more planned.**

 **...I can't think of anything else to say.**


	6. Chapter 6

_"You know...theoretically, this world should be dead right now, considering their lack of technological advancements. Could there be a reason for why this isn't the case...? Maybe there's a reason why Tiberium seems to spread so slowly here..."_ **-An Engineer expressing his thoughts about this world's current state.**

* * *

The road to Italica normally wasn't really a long one, but then again, there were Tiberium Fissures everywhere, sprouting Tiberium, so it was kinda hard to find landmarks to guide them, plus with the added fact that APCs and MCVs were poor options for traversing Tiberium fields, due to their wheels containing organic materials, forcing them to go around.

That, and some idiots decided to make their bandit forts on the side of the road.

By the time they found the fourth one, they decided to just let the Mammoth Tanks bulldoze it and save ammo. It was still pretty satisfying.

What they came upon next, however, was quite...disturbing.

Instead of a bunch of bandits waiting to ambush, they found a convoy of wagons, traveling on another stretch of empty, Tiberium-free pathways. With the angle that they were at, combined with the hazy fog and the time of day, they were kinda easy to miss. It was thanks to the Commander's short-range radar that they found it.

 _[EVA: Strange energy signatures detected inside the wagons. Scans of heat signatures show civilians within them.]_

The Commander in the MCV looked at his screen, before contacting the Commandos on the Comms.

 **[{COMMS} Commander: Alright, Mike, Rylie, we have a suspicious-looking convoy up ahead, and we'd like you to check it out.]**

 **[{COMMS} Mike: Roger that, Commander!]**

 **[{COMMS} Rylie: Copy.]**

* * *

Mike and Rylie stood by the side of the road, holding onto their carbines in case things went south. The leader of the convoy gave the signal to halt, looking down upon the two from his horse. He began to speak, the language being translated by the programs in the helmets of the two Commandos.

"Greetings, who may you two be?" Strangely, he wasn't intimidated by their armor, in fact, but was still wary nonetheless by their "outlandish" appearance.

"We are simply travelers from...beyond the Eastern sea! From the coun-... _Kingdom_ of America. Whom may you be?" He replied, ignoring the _'seriously?'_ glance from Rylie.

The convoy leader raised an eyebrow, but then he smiled.

"Ah, so foreign explorers? I must say, these are dark times, with the Death Crystal and the Black Knights, but we are simply just merchants trying to make a living!"

 _'Black Knights?'_ The two Commandos thought at the same. However,

"May we browse your wares, sir? Our...leaders would be pleased to have some souvenirs."

"Why, most certainly!" As the man turned around, Mike and Rylie looked at each other.

 **[{COMMS}" Mike: I have a bad feeling about this.]**

 **[{COMMS} Rylie: Me too, but we gotta play along with it. Besides, we have backup waiting in the fog.]**

* * *

Following the horseman, Mike had one question to ask.

"What kind of things do you have in stock?"

"Why, the most exotic wares you will ever find! The nobles here tend to pay big coin for them!"

 _'I don't like where this is going.'_

As they approached a particular wagon, Mike noticed that the driver seemed to be rather on edge, staring at them with a pleading look in his eyes.

Climbing up, the two could only stare in abstract horror at these "wares", which, in actuality, were _slaves._ Children, adults. Males, females. Humans, and 'humanoids'. All chained up, and forced to wear tattered clothing. Looking at up the two, with worn out eyes.

"We sell only the finest in the land!"

There was a tense silence.

"...I'll take 'em all." Mike suddenly blurted out, catching both Rylie and the Slaver off-gaurd.

 **[{COMMS} Rylie: Mike, what are you doing?!]**

 **[{COMMS} Mike: Play along. When I give the signal, start mowing down those guardian escorts.]**

The Slaver seemed shocked, but then he grinned brightly at the prospect of such high profit.

"Ah, your lord is one of those whom are into harems? No matter, let us discuss the price!"

As he walked away, the two silently made sure that their guns were loaded.

 **[{COMMS} Mike: Now!]**

Time seemed to slow down, Mike grabbing the Slavers' leader by the shoulder, as Rylie aimed her gun at the nearby guards.

Mike slammed the leader down on the ground, the impact knocking him out as the female commando mowed down the guards. As more guards poured out, the two commandos went back to back.

The nearby horses, spooked by the sounds of gunfire, took off running, carriages in tow, only to stop when several Wolverine 's intercepted them, blocking their path, as the horses were unwilling to get any closer to the nearby Tiberium fields.

The MCV, flanked by a pair of Mammoth Tanks, pulled up. Upon seeing the massive "metal carriages", the rest of the slavers immediately surrender.

That is, all except for one, an archer, who fires an enchanted arrow into the air, which glows brightly, like a flare.

They were calling in reinforcements!

* * *

 _I am Lyro, and I am a nekomata. And I am writing this, so that in the event that we should be wiped out, we will hopefully have something left to prove that we existed._

 _Despite their lack of modern communication systems, and the threat of Tiberium, as they called it, news traveled fast in Falmar._

 _Shortly after the Princess left through the Gate, a mysterious group of people simply called the Black Knights. Many just ignored them, but others spoke of them as abominations, for their ability to traverse the Tiberium fields without being poisoned by it._

 _However, this began to change as they exposed several nobles for their secret lives of slave trade, highly frowned upon ever since the Tiberium appeared._

 _I used to work for one of them, until a strange man, named Maximus, freed me from such a morbid life, with the help of a massive metal golem, that I would later be told was an Avatar._

 _Right as the lord was about to have his way with me, the ground began to shake. Being half-animal, I was more perceptive to these "groundshakes." What was weird was that it seemed to have a strange pattern, as if it were...footsteps._

 _Several objects started to rattle on the shelves and tabletops they sat on._

 _Without warning, there was the sound of an explosion downstairs, followed by the screams of the lord's guards as "gunshots" rang out._

 _Then, my savior, Maximus himself, burst in through the door. He wore a helmet that concealed his head, the markings on it giving it the appearance of a snarling five-eyed demon. He wore a suit of black armor, with an emblem, a triangular shape housing a black scorpion's tail, on the center of his chest._

 _In his hands, he held a "gun", which he aimed at the lord, and spoke._

 _"Kane have mercy on your soul! You will pay for your sins against mankind, for I shall carry out his will!"_

 _Before my lord could act, the triple-barreled gun Max held absolutely slaughtered him._

 _Feeling vulnerable, I can vaguely remember curling up, having been...nude...when it happened, silently praying for mercy._

 _To my surprise, I heard several voices, and before I knew it, I was wrapped in a blanket, being carried away._

 _I eventually woke up in some kind of strange bed, where I first spoke to Maximus. I learned that I was in the main base of the Brotherhood of Nod, whom were a militarized religious faction. Apparently, the Gate had opened a few decades ago, and nothing seemed to come out of it._

 _Before the Empire could invade, there was a massive shockwave as the Gate suddenly collapsed._

 _What Maximus had told me that shortly before the destruction of their main temple, Temple Prime, a Gate had mysteriously appeared. He had been sent in with a small group of "Militants" and a massive bug-like creature called an "MCV". They had "cloaked", or made invisible, their base on Alnus Hill, which just so happened to also be an area of religious value._

 _A massive cloud of dust suddenly shot out of the Gate, followed by the aforementioned collapse._

 _He says that the only reason he knows what happened was that one last transmission came through the gateway, showing the image of a cyan-colored beam of magic striking the planet, followed by a catastrophic explosion that shot out beyond the heavens._

 _There was a lot that had to be explained to me there._

 _He then gave me an offer that would change my life._

 _He offered me a chance to join the Brotherhood, a faction whom embraced the Tiberium with open arms._

 _I had all the time I needed to think about it, but only after an hour, I made up my mind._

 _They gave me some kind of strange green injection. They said that it was a "Tiberium Infusion", a form of Tiberium that would grant me immunity to the green death crystal._

 _Soon, my appearance began to take on several changes. My normally golden hair took on a green highlight near the ends, as did my ears and tail._

 _My eyes have a faint glow, which I can suppress at will._

 _But more importantly, my body had changed._

 _I'm much stronger, and more quick. My senses are heightened, to the point where I can tell that at this very moment, there is an Avatar approaching our base, and it's roughly three miles away._

 _The main point, however, is that I am immune to Tiberium now._

 _They have done so much for me, and I intend to return the favor with my life. Tomorrow, I intend to travel the world..._

 _...as Lyro, the super badass bike-riding Apostle of Kane!_

...

...

...

"That last part sounded really cheesy, y'know?"

"S-Shut up! I tried!" Lyro yelled, blushing in embarrassment.

"Who the hell even taught you the word 'badass', anyways? As far as i'm concerned, that word didn't even exist in this era."

"...Be quiet...please."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Well, that's that, I guess. Helluva lot easier to type than the previous chapter, i'll say that.**

 **And no, Lyro's not a true Gate Apostle, she's just gonna get heightened senses, and the ability to heal wounds when exposed to Tiberium, but other than that, it's just a fancy title.**

 **Also, an Apostle is basically another word for "messenger", so she's basically a "Messenger of Kane".**

 **Oh, and some advice via review would be greatly appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Another wave of bandits incoming!" A Zone Trooper called out.

"What the hell?! How can there be so many bandits?!"

"I need ammo!"

"Dip, dip, Potato chip!"

The terms "bandit" and "army" usually aren't meant to go together.

But, you see, when the Tiberium came, many of the local lords died trying to use it as jewelry, their armies disbanded, then reformed into large bandit clans, and eventually, they actually managed to form some kind of alliance.

Also, they were fucking pissed, because it was _their_ forts that the convoy demolished!

Despite their numbers, they were still getting mowed down in droves. However, thanks to the limited number of available GDI personnel and the short time they had to build defenses, they were kinda undermanned in infantry, plus, ammo could only last for so long until you had to retreat and restock.

"What I would give for a squad of Nod's Black Hands right now..."

"Same here!"

* * *

Mike and Rylie continued to mow down droves of bandits, dodging whatever projectiles were shot at them.

"How many have you taken down?"

"187." She elbows a bandit in the face. "Make that 188."

"Heh, looks like we're tied!" He replied,

"I'm down to two mags left, I might have to grab a sword off of one of these guys."

A Wolverine lumbered over to their position, firing its auto-cannons into the horde of bandits, ripping them to shreds. The sight of a giant golem-like creature convinced many of the smarter ones to retreat with great haste and a damp spot between their legs.

"Hell yeah!" A Rifleman calls out.

"G-D-I!" Another cheers.

"G-D-I!"

"To save another world we must fight back to back!" One begins to sing, prompting others to join in.

"Against the Tiberium, we'll never get off track!"

"We'll unleash all our forces!"

"We'll always be on the attack!"

"The GDI deploys!" Mike finished proudly as he slammed another bandit across the face with his fist.

Upon hearing the little chant, the bandits thought them to be crazy. Singing songs in the middle of a fight?! These people were absolutely insane! It probably wasn't worth fighting them in the first place! More and more bandits began to retreat or surrender, especially when a Titan , towering over the already imposing Wolverines, came forth from the makeshift base's entrance.

* * *

 **[Some time later..]**

Mike held his gun firmly in his hands as he watched the other GDI personnel set up several G-330X Habitat Modules, which were large cross-shaped housing structures originally made to appeal to the Mutants, or as they prefer to be called, The Forgotten, the people who were mutated by Tiberium and forced to live in the Yellow and Red Zones.

With state-of-the-art life support systems and excellent environmental protection, they would also serve as temporary shelters for the slaves they just rescued, as well as prisons for the bandits that surrendered.

Since they didn't know how far away Italica was, it would probably be best if they didn't take neither the rescued slaves nor the prisoners with them, lest the latter try any funny business.

So when the overhead ion storms settled down just enough for their commander to send a radio signal, he wasted no time, informing Aurora Base's high command of their situation and asking what their next course of action should be.

The HRs decided that since the commander had built a small makeshift base, they took advantage of it and designated it Alcatraz Base, whereas the region was now to be referred to as the Alcatraz Region.

All that aside, the present forces were to remain there, replenish and restock ammo until reinforcements could arrive within a few hours with a MARV to start clearing out the newly dubbed region, in addition to new personnel to defend and maintain the base so that the original force could continue to Italica.

With that said, Mike would have to wait several hours for them to arrive, and that meant boredom.

You see, Commandos lived to fight on the battlefield, their training having tapped into a primal urge for combat. Because of this, their mental states were often those of desensitized soldiers, fearing nothing as they crack whimsical one-liners on the battlefield. Also, because of this, many trainee drop-outs often had to seek therapy.

Simply put, Mike hated boredom. A lot. He decided that he'd just patrol the base's perimeter for the time being.

The grounds around him seemed to crinkle beneath his armored boots, as every step seemed to disturb the dust, which would drift away with the winds, where the surface had been drained of minerals and turned into a barren wasteland by the Tiberium.

It was quite grotesque, but the green glow of the deadly crystal...it made him feel quite calm, despite the present dangers it brought.

It was almost as if it were a painting, the way the bright green Tiberium contrasted against the dulled dark ground.

Almost.

* * *

 **[A few hours later, after reinforcements arrived to maintain the base..]**

Mike walked alongside their mutated guide, a man named Duran, a former general for one of the many deceased lords of the lands. He had been one of those mutated by Tiberium, deformed enough to make most feel uncomfortable, but still human enough to actually resemble a living person.

Some time into the trek, they came across a pile of partially decimated marble structures, that looked like as if they had collapsed. Charred bodies were sparsely scattered about, either face down on the ground, or staring upwards at the sky, horror and/or resignation permanently etched into their expressions. Mutant vultures pecked at the corpses.

"Valkyries." Their mutated guide suddenly spoke. Behind them, the convoy came to a halt, as engineers walked over to inspect the scene.

"Valkyries?" Miked asked, looking at one of the bodies; a female donning some rather reflective armor. Her neck was bent at an extreme angle, suggesting that it had possibly snapped upon impact. She looked just like the Valkyries from the Norse legends, iconic helm and all.

Duran nodded grimly. "They're a proud race of warriors. They build grand cities of marble in the sky, where they can't be spotted or invaded. They seldom come down to trade with other races, riding on large thundering birds or in carriages pulled by winged horses. But ever since the great storms begun, their cities have come crumbling down, and so have they."

After hearing this, Mike suddenly became aware of the bits of crumbling dust falling from the sky.

* * *

A few more hours passed as Mike, now joined by Rylie, continued to walk ahead of the heavily armored convoy.

"Wait." Duran held his hand up, signaling them to stop once again.

"What is it this time?"

"Over there. Look!" He pointed out towards something in the distance.

The male commando had to squint his eyes, but then he saw it; A large city surrounded by towering walls, protected from the harsh elements under a massive lavender-tinted dome.

"There it is! Italica!"

With this newfound discovery, the convoy quickened their pace.

* * *

A young cyan-haired mage stood upon the southernmost wall of Italica, staring out at the misty landscape before her.

This was Lelei la Lalena, a young mage in training. She was one of the many who would feed their magic into the barrier protecting them from the death crystal on a daily basis. It was a tiring process, but she managed to put up with it, for if the barrier fell, death may come swiftly.

The barrier in question was created by powering a large pink crystal located within the massive building in the center of the city, and for as long the barrier stood, only form of Tiberium getting in were the "Deadmen", the name given to those mutated. The fear of being poisoned was too great to allow them into the city, leading to many families being separated. Dozens, if not hundreds of Deadmen huddled around the city's walls, shivering in the cold.

A glint in the distance grabbed her attention. A group of metal carriages followed by towering golems, some of which appeared to have long rods on their fronts.

Wasting no time, she made her way down a flight of stairs to the gate, signaling the guards to open it. They looked at her hesitantly, but since Lelei has been entrusted by the princess's brother, Diablo, they didn't have much of a choice.

There, she slowly walked out of the protective walls of Italica, standing in the open doorway, where she hoped for the best.

The best is what she would find.

* * *

 _It knew what had to be done._

 _It had watched as LEGION helped Kane manipulate the GDI to summon the Scrin._

 _It knew._

 _Thanks to this new body it had taken over, it could now use the Heart of Nikolil to create a distress beacon to summon the Scrin itself._

 _There, it would ambush them, using their bodies as husks for its own soldiers._

 _The heart glowed as it began to construct._


End file.
